Police union reps who endorsed Democrats in O.C. elections attended Trump gala

Jose Duran and John Kachirisky, the respective presidents of the Anaheim and Santa Ana unions, posed together for a photograph at the exclusive Liberty Ball on Jan. 20, 2025.

Though the event took place 20 months ago, the image is resurfacing on social media as both police unions spend heavily to back local candidates opposed to Trump’s immigration crackdown ahead of the November election.

The Fraternal Order of Police, a national organization, provided Duran and Kachirisky with tickets to attend the event hosted by the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, both leaders confirmed.

Photographs and video posted to Facebook by Alex Lyons, Duran’s girlfriend at the time, show the union presidents at the event, a pair of Liberty Ball guest badges, snippets of Trump’s remarks to supporters, a performance by country singer Jason Aldean and a sauntering Hulk Hogan.

Attendance by union representatives seems at odds with local Democratic majorities on both City Councils, as well as voter rolls. Many Latino residents from both cities criticized and protested the president’s federal immigration crackdown, before and after it began.

Both police officers justified their attendance as part of a bipartisan approach to advocacy, with Kachirisky stating that he would attend a Democratic president’s inaugural gala as well, if given the opportunity.

Sgt. Tony Lee, who served as vice president of the Anaheim Police Assn., more than doubled his base salary in 2024 while assigned to the Disneyland Resort. Anaheim PD internally reviewed Lee and APA president Jose Duran’s hours.

Lyons, a Canadian who does not consider herself a Trump supporter, told TimesOC that she attended the Liberty Ball at Duran’s invitation.

Duran noted that he went in his capacity as president of the Anaheim Police Assn.’s lodge within the Fraternal Order of Police, or FOP, and that no union funds went toward tickets or airfare.

Attending, Duran argued, did not “change or undermine” the Anaheim Police Department’s policy of non-cooperation with federal immigration agents.

“APA’s focus remains to advocate for our membership on issues that affect pay, benefits and working conditions,” Duran said, using the union’s acronym. “In that context, as it relates to policy advocacy, we build and maintain relationships across the aisle, Democrats and Republicans.”

Kachirisky also attended as his union’s FOP lodge president.

“The FOP and our association’s priority is to advocate for our members, and that means developing bi-partisan relationships with any administration for the benefit of our membership,” Kachirisky said.

Mike Madrid, a Republican political consultant and expert on Latino politics, begged to differ, calling the Trump inaugural ball attendance a “black eye.”

“There’s a sacred bond that police have with the communities they serve, and that is to try to be relatable and connect with the community,” he said. “To not understand how out of touch this is with the two largest Latino communities in O.C. is just tone deaf — either that or they just don’t care.”

Latinos comprise about 77% of Santa Ana’s population and 53% of Anaheim’s. Santa Ana is the only sanctuary city in the county.

Months after the inaugural ball, Duran cited his background as the son of an immigrant at a press conference encouraging peaceful protest outside of Rep. Lou Correa’s Santa Ana office on June 10, 2025.

Rep. Correa led a press conference last year after masked federal immigration raids hit Orange County. (Gabriel San Román) By then, federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Border Patrol agents had begun masked sweeps of undocumented immigrants.

Angry protests against the raids led to dozens of arrests that month in Santa Ana and the California National Guard blocked traffic in front of federal buildings downtown.

Correa quickly returned home from Washington, D.C. Labor, nonprofit and religious leaders flanked the congressman to “condemn ICE raids being conducted across Orange County,” according to a media invitation sent by his office.

Duran stood among the staunch critics of the federal crackdown. The young officer with a sleek side-part haircut recounted how his father immigrated to the United States without authorization. Unlike other speakers, Duran did not specifically criticize the ICE raids.

Correa, he said, invited him to speak on the public’s right to protest peacefully and law enforcement’s role in maintaining order.

“We do recognize the deep concerns and frustrations that have driven these protests, and we acknowledge the importance of addressing immigration issues with compassion, fairness, and adherence to the rule of law,” Duran said at the press conference. “However, we are deeply concerned about the acts of public destruction, threats against our public safety, and violence directed at our police officers. These actions undermine the very fabric of our communities, and they really do hinder the efforts to find constructive solutions.”

Before introducing Duran, Correa noted that Kachirisky attended a meeting of community leaders at his office before the press conference. Kachirisky did not appear before reporters that day.

Alex Jordan’s photos from the Liberty Ball in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 20, 2025. (Screenshot by Gabriel San Román) Duran returned to Washington in early February for a Fraternal Order’s “Day on the Hill” lobbying trip. He reported back on the FOP efforts with lawmakers but did not mention attending the Liberty Ball, according to Feb. 18, 2025 board meeting minutes.

The FOP endorsed Trump in each of his three presidential campaigns, including in Sept. 2024 when an organization press release noted “public safety” and “border security” as key issues.

In June 2024, the APA’s executive board of directors voted unanimously to join the FOP, both in California and nationally, with membership fees absorbed into union dues with no increase, according to meeting minutes.

Local police unions generally join the FOP for added benefits like legal protection and national political influence.

Santa Ana POA’s membership in the FOP predates Kachirisky’s leadership by decades. He attended a FOP “Day on the Hill” lobbying trip with Duran last year.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection paused plans for a maritime surveillance tower in San Clemente. Some elected officials want to see it permanently scrapped.

When not lobbying federal lawmakers, both local unions wield political influence over city elections.

The APA political action committee recently suspended its endorsement of Anaheim Mayor Ashleigh Aitken’s reelection campaign after Berenice Ballinas, her chief of staff, filed a legal claim alleging that the mayor called her a “dirty Mexican” and repeatedly questioned her perceived sexual orientation. (Aitken, a Democrat, denies that she made inappropriate comments about her aide’s race or sexual orientation).

Cesar Aguilar, who chairs the PAC, noted the importance of due process and community relations in making the decision.

“We take seriously our responsibility to maintain the trust and confidence of the entire Anaheim community,” he said in a press statement. “When serious allegations involving discrimination or inappropriate conduct are raised, it is appropriate for us to step back from an endorsement while the facts are being established.”

Duran serves as treasurer for an independent expenditure committee the APA is sponsoring and funding to support Democratic Councilmember Natalie Rubalcava’s reelection.

Through Oct. 8, the APA has poured nearly $90,000 into its coffers to spend as Elia Renteria-Garcia, a Democrat who works as a non-profit director, is challenging her bid for another term. Both candidates have criticized the ICE raids.

Since Oct. 1, the Santa Ana POA has spent about $118,500 in independent expenditures, or IEs, supporting four council candidates, with Ward 6 candidate Giovanni Chavez, a Democrat and ICE critic, being the chief beneficiary. The police union’s IE committee has also spent $25,500 opposing two council candidates.

A separate police union PAC has made modest contributions to four Democratic candidates for state Legislature and donated $10,000 to Democrat Xavier Becerra’s gubernatorial campaign against his Trump-endorsed Republican challenger, Steve Hilton.

Get our free TimesOC newsletter, sent twice a week, for the news that matters to your community.

Gabriel San Román is a feature writer for TimesOC. He previously worked at OC Weekly until the newspaper’s closing in late 2019. In 2023, San Román was part of the breaking news reporting team that was a Pulitzer finalist for its coverage of the Lunar New Year mass shooting in Monterey Park.